Riddle Heights for our rise against the years

The cold snap of winter's teeth on the wind had finally faded from the weather and the breeze that came sweeping up over the last struggling lumps of snow and past the sharp tipped edges of rocks had the softer feeling of spring and summer on the rise to it. Dark clouds still hung gray and unwavering in the sky and if Devaki knew anything about the weather it was this: rain was on the horizon. It probably would be nearly every day until summer finally did come in to be in actuality – though this area was slightly further north than her original home so far it seemed to be similar in both weather and terrain.

The only real difference was the fact that this was the first place that she had encountered where game was both plentiful and a surprisingly large (or so her nose told her anyway) population of wolves existed. It seemed an odd combination to her, having come from a place where food had been scarce and the wolves of her pack very few in number with no neighbors nor lone wolves about to speak of. So she had settled here, at least temporarily, to discover what she could of this place and decide if she might make a home here.

Settling in had been surprisingly easy, she'd located a suitable den in the rocky rough ridge lines of a place she did not have a name for. The terrain was more harsh and the weather slightly chillier and more harsh than the more lush forest and plains that stretched below but the place felt like home and the den she'd discovered pressed back against an overhanging slab of rock was the perfect hide out for her until she could figure out what to do next. She sat settled now, overlooking the valley from a perch she'd discovered exploring the area most immediately local to her new den, wondering where she might begin trying to establish herself here.

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What had driven her to return this way? A chance to let the tell-tale scent of her friend wash from her fur, a clear sign of her betrayal? Most likely (although she continued to tell herself it had been so long since she had been by the heights). It was faint now, like any other casual encounter she may have had and it was replaced by another much stronger. It sent a gentle shiver of glee down her spine. She would have cubs again this year. An absent minded smile played across her lips. For the first time in almost a year, she felt at peace.

Pushing the question of the cubs parentage under the rug for now she paused to enjoy the warmth of the slowly returning sun on her thick pelt. She had not yet begun to shed, but she knew when she did her tawny pelt would come free in raggedy clumps. She did not think on the absence of her second before her departure, nor did she hold any suspicions of exactly what had transpired in her own absence. Time would tell the truth of it all but for now, she would enjoy the strangely satisfying feeling of being whole again.

There was still a long walk to go (she even contemplated walking close enough to the Lost Lake to leave a sign of her new status as mother to be for the dogs that lived there, being more than aware of Tlarx’s absence), but another scent came to her nose and interrupted her little dark thoughts, wiping the smirk from her face in the process. Her look of self amusement was replaced by one of caution, her tail remaining neutrally low as her golden eyes scanned the rocky terrain.

She was well concealed amongst the rocks, this loner girl. Her last few encounters were enough to put her on high alert but she worked to keep her posture non-threatening, she was neither on her doorstep nor growling at her for no good reason - yet. A small bark warning of her approach left her lips as she angled herself to be in better sight, her head lifting to catch more of the strangers scent. Still far enough away to continue on if the girl did not want to talk but close enough to be approachable she waited to see how the other would react.

With eyes focused afar she did not notice the approach of a female who was, perhaps, equal to herself in physical prowess. Only the low sharp bark of courtesy warning alerted Devaki to her approach. A flinch of surprised rippled across her shoulders and she turned sharply toward the sound, eyes searching for a moment before she picked out the confidently moving form of Naira. The female moved toward her in a vague way, though her path easily could have looped to carry her further away from Devaki rather than closer.

For a moment she simply sat upon the shelf of rock studying her unexpected visitor – the other wolf was not as large as she herself was, not as tall nor long nose to tail tip but certainly more bulky. Heavier. After this assessment Devaki came to her feet smoothly before hopping confidently down from the rock. She landed heavily but firmly, with no sign of losing balance nor footing – though she did not possess the nimble grace of a smaller, faster wolf. This was, of course, in part a display of casual confidence.

Despite the touch of show boating she still kept neutral posture, tail hanging relaxed, ears alert and ready but not poised forward aggressively. She didn't bother to hide her obvious height over the other wolf – her stance was unapologetic, she didn't owe this wolf submission. Her nose told her of the scents of others. A pack wolf? It seemed likely, even with a large population it was unlikely that a lone wolf would interact with others so frequently that one would carry their scent so heavily.

Once she was within a range that didn't require she raise her voice to be heard clearly she said simply, directly. "Who are you?" This was not a defensive question, nor accusatory – but rather a direct question that cut around the polite round-about-bits of conversation. She never had understood the supposedly necessary niceties of social interaction and fortunately enough for her she had enough mass and power to deflect most of the backlash that she would typically receive for her rudeness.

(This post was last modified: Mar 06, 2013, 04:58 AM by Devaki.)

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Confidently she moved - the stranger... A small smile of appreciation for the fluid movements of the other showing on her face. At a guess she would say the woman before her had been born to the mountains, or at least spent her fair share of time amongst them. Perhaps with time she would seek the Nomad’s out herself? It couldn’t hurt to feel her out now she was here anyway. A large female, larger than herself, though not as heavy (although what more was to be expected when comparing a pack wolf to a loner?) - she did not waste breath on words. A fact Naira was secretly grateful for. She was not one to waste time on pleasantries.

She took a moment to think on the wording of the other wolf’s question. Who exactly was she? But this was hardly the time for a philosophical moment. "Naira. I lead a pack on the mountain." Her head swung north in the direction of the mountain’s peak. "Over the other side..." not East, or West, but North. She allowed a moment for her information to settle in, it had been more than the girl had asked for but the change in her scent from heat to pregnant had left her in a surprisingly good mood. "And you are?" she prompted, just as ready for a hostile response as a civil one. She wasn’t sure if it was the winter or the rabies outbreak that had so many on edge, but the girl before her hardly seemed a fool like the last two had.

Tentatively she felt mutual respect for this wolf – Devaki hadn't had a ton of interactions with others of her kind but it seemed that the ones she did meet always gravitated toward either the need to attempt dominance over her (foolish) or the desire to grovel before her (irritating). This female seemed very much at ease in her own skin and simply settled into equal footing with Devaki for now. Of course, that status might not always stick but for now mutual recognition for the need to maintain balance between them seemed to be acknowledged and she found herself liking that.

Apparently unflustered by Devaki's direct approach to the topic of introductions, this too was good. Devaki didn't have enough time or interest to mince words with some random stranger. In fact, she had difficulty imagining a more boring pass time. Naria, as she said her name was, was forthcoming enough with information. Perhaps it wouldn't take her as long as she initially had believed it might to learn enough about this place to decide if she actually wanted to stay around or not.

"I'm Devaki." She didn't offer a surname, it didn't seem to matter much what hers was considering she didn't have any family left to speak of anyway. "Are there many packs in this area?" She queried curious, her head tilting to the side just a shade as she asked this. Though she'd had enough time to explore the are and discover there were quite a few wolves lingering around she didn't know just how many or if they had formed pack groups or they were simply loners living in the same place by coincidence.

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Delvaki. The name was tucked away along with the scent of the stranger as she listened to her next question. "On the Heights? No." It was a simple enough question to answer, although there was more to it than that. "Further up, there is a Lake, and a pack of curs can be found..." she added with a bemused grin, teeth flashing less than threateningly. The undercurrent of history was more than clear in her tone at the mention of Poison Path but she would not elaborate now.

Thinking back over all she had learned in the last few weeks she decided to enlighten the newcomer a little more. "To my knowledge, besides my own and the dogs there are four others on the lowlands... possibly more with Spring on the way..." New packs were to be expected with the change of seasons but she couldn’t help but wonder how many more the Lore could sustain? There was of course, the pack of child-snatchers yet to be dealt with but from what they had gathered she knew them to be few.

She had answered enough questions for now. "From where do you come?" She was curious to know if her thoughts had been correct when it came to the girls mountain blood or whether it was something that came naturally to some. After all, it had taken her some practice to hold herself as steadily as she did now.

Sheltered as she had been Devaki could not quite tell if Naira meant that the pack she spoke of was made up of actual dogs or if she simply meant it as a jab. She herself had never truly even met a dog, she'd only heard of them in stories from her pack mates. As far as she understood it they were merely smaller, weaker beings to herself. Though she was curious about it she was not quite curious enough to ask after it, instead she asked a far more pressing question – one that had been lingering in her mind since her arrival in this place. "That seems like a lot, is there a lot of competition for game and territory?" The solitary pack she'd existed in had no nearby neighbors and she couldn't imagine peace in a place with so many close by packs.

At her question Devaki rolled her shoulders in a dismissive shrug before responding easily. "No place of consequence, to the south of here in a mountainous region. There was nothing worth having left of my own pack so I moved on." This was said with the slightest edge of distaste in her tone – she had not appreciated the way the two older adults remaining to her pack had become dependent upon her and had behaved as if she owed them both her life and the strength of her back as well as the cunning of her mind. "If things aren't too crowded around here I may stay." She said in an offhanded considering way – speaking more to herself than to Naira.

(This post was last modified: Mar 06, 2013, 06:08 AM by Devaki.)

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Game. Territory. Two concerns that sat highest on her own list of concerns. Her eyes took on a far off look for a moment as she considered all that she had happened in the last few short months. “The Mountain moves.” It was a gentle warning. “New paths open to the East. Perhaps some will migrate...” There was a shadow of memory flickering in the depths of her eyes, a hint of fear perhaps. She had spent months trapped on the other side, it was not a place that held fond memories for her.

A small smile crossed her face at the mention of mountains, so her gut had been right, it was good to see she was not growing rusty with the years, and it was refreshing to hold a conversation that didn’t result in her having to put an upiddy fool in their place. There was a distinct shortage of females within her pack, a point Rhysis had been all to happy to point out when Sagacity had almost taken a tumble... Perhaps...

But she would not push the girl now... much. “Well if you do decide to stay...” she let her words trail off for a moment. “We always welcome those who are capable of looking after themselves.” The weak and dimwitted were turned away without a second thought. She would not tolerate fools in her pack, and her tone spoke clearly of the fact. No doubt the girl had her faults, but for now she had be measured, and found to be of an acceptable standard. Even meeting Naira’s own lofty requirements.

(This post was last modified: Mar 06, 2013, 11:46 PM by Naira.)

This wasn't an entirely bad encounter, certainly not one for it being with the first wolf she'd met since her arrival. The female seemed capable and sensible – though that didn't matter overly much to Devaki, more importantly this wolf was healthy and well fed. The area did not stink of disease and there seemed to be no real reason to fear settling down here. Devaki was, however, slightly put off by the lack of answer to the direct questions she had asked about competition for food and territory in the area. She couldn't decide of Naira was dodging the question purposely or if she thought that it wasn't important to answer. Either way, Devaki wasn't going to repeat the question.

"Thanks for the heads up." She responded simply and without any real inflection when she was warned of the shifting trails and paths in the mountain passes. That was not uncommon, especially in winter and spring months, to happen in mountainous territory. Mudslides, avalanches, floods, and more often times changed the shape of the landscape cutting off once reliable passes and creating new ones where they had never existed before. None of that was really news to her but all the same she wasn't unappreciative about the other wolf's apparent good will toward her.

At the invitation she cocked her head – the upsides to joining a pack, any pack, were obvious to most but Devaki felt like she was enough of an asset to need more than a simple invitation. Why should she join this pack over any others? She felt that being welcomed was not reason enough for her to choose and Naira did not provide any compelling reasons for her to put the strength of her back and the sharpness of her mind at her disposal. "I'll consider it." She responded simply, smoothly, and without any implied commitment. She would think about it, of course, but she'd be thinking about her other options too. She'd spent long enough in the company of those who relied upon her without giving enough in return and there was no real way to tell, as of yet, if Naira's pack would be any different.

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She had seen far too many cases of a ‘hard sell’ when it came to recruiting a new wolf. She could be almost certain that in time, this girl would meet others of her pack, maybe Tenzin or Mapplethorpe down in the Ghastly Woods, or maybe even Rhysis himself if she stuck to the heights and mountain. She was not the sort to bandy words and breakable promises of ideals which she may or may not be able to uphold - after all, her view of the Nomad’s was somewhat bias. With time, the wolf before her may seek them out or she may not, but only time would tell.

Her nose tilted to the sky, taking in the position of the sun and the scent of rain on the wind, there was not a cloud in sight as yet but with spring in the air and warmer weather on the way, she knew the change was inevitable. She had no desire to scale the final treacherous miles competing with the added challenge of rain washing away her paths and adding extra slip to the ground.

"Well until next time..." she said with a small knowing smile. This woman was as much a warrior as she, with any luck she would find the other packs as wanting as she did herself. "My guardians can be a little... Unforgiving..." she offered by way of warning. "Just let them know it is me you seek... If you would like to come judge us for yourself..."